


I Grieve With Thee

by xcourtney_chaoticx



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Missing Scene, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9700664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xcourtney_chaoticx/pseuds/xcourtney_chaoticx
Summary: Khan has been defeated, is gone, is dead... but so are many others Scotty knew and loved: good officers and crewmembers, his nephew Peter... and now Spock. So many are gone that they have loved, and they will need their time to grieve.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Little missing scene for Wrath of Khan. I just wondered what happened between the scene where Spock died and what happened after.

Scotty watches as the final exchange between Kirk and Spock comes to an end. _God, I’m tired._ Spock’s body slides down the glass, followed by Kirk, and Kirk looks broken. It’s been a hard journey for everyone. He still has yet to inform his sister that Peter died. A lump rises in his throat again, now that he has time to think and grieve, to process what happened. _I’m so goddamn tired._

He and McCoy wait solemnly by, wait for it to be safe for someone to retrieve Spock’s body. Kirk refuses to move until then, tears dripping down his face, his breath catching every so often. There’s nothing Scotty can do to help, so he just sits by and waits, trying not to let his own emotions get the better of him. The captain had been close to Spock, closer by far than he was with anyone else, and Scotty’s always suspected there’s been something more than friendship between them. _Not that it matters anymore._ Scotty feels his lip tremble, ducks his head.

After an hour, the radiation is finally cleared from the chamber, and two young lieutenants go in and remove Spock’s body. He looks horrible, radiation burns causing his skin to slough off in exposed areas, but Scotty isn’t surprised by it. He knew what would happen. They all troop up to Medical together. McCoy directs them into a private room where the two lieutenants place the body on a bed and leave. It’s only the three of them now, Scotty and McCoy and Kirk… four if you counted Spock. Kirk comes over to stand by Spock’s body, reaches out, settles a hand on Spock’s side where the half-Vulcan’s heart should be beating.

That’s what breaks him. Kirk bursts into tears, dropping his head onto Spock’s chest. McCoy steps close and quietly soothes Kirk’s grief, his hand stroking over Kirk’s back and carding through his hair, but it’s not long before McCoy is crying, too. _They were all so close._ Scotty almost feels like he’s intruding on a private moment as the two of them sob over their lost companion. He stays. Kirk will need help getting back to his quarters, and Scotty will help. They allow themselves their time to grieve, then they carefully escort Kirk out of Medical.

“Just go to sleep, Jim,” McCoy tells him quietly, “You just go to sleep now, darlin’…”

McCoy lets his thin fingers card through Kirk’s hair as he falls asleep.

“C’mon, Scotty, let’s go. He’ll call me when he needs me. C’mon…”

They go next to Scotty’s quarters, and Scotty doesn’t even realize it until they’re there.

“Dr. McCoy, I’ll be alright. You go on an-“

“Bull. You are not alright, Mr. Scott. None of us is alright. Now, let’s just go in and drink to Spock’s memory, and maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll drink enough to forget about all this for a bit.”

“Aye, doctor… s’pose it’s as good an idea as any.”

They go in, and Scotty heads over to his desk, ready to pull the bottle of scotch from the drawer. On the desk is a photo of himself and Peter from only a few weeks ago. Soon, he’s crying, too, dropping to the floor and sobbing. McCoy is at his side in an instant. He pulls Scotty in for an embrace, holding him, comforting him.

“He was so young, McCoy,” he cries, “So young… bu-but he did his job… stay-stayed at his post when everyone ran… He was a good boy-“

“Hush now… I know, I know-“

“He was in such pain! He didn’t deserve that!”

“No, he didn’t. Nobody deserves anything that’s happened to ‘em in the last couple days. Not a one,” McCoy tells him thickly, “C’mon, now… you just hush and let it out, Scotty… let it out…”

Gentle fingers come to rest on his cheek, stroking soothingly, and Scotty just cries. He cries for his nephew, Peter. He cries for Spock. He cries for Kirk’s loss, for all the cadets lost, for all the innocence lost. It hurts. He hurts, a powerful emptiness burning in his chest. He’s tired and spent. He’s exhausted. It’s just been too much.

The door to his quarters whooshes open, and Kirk comes in, immediately joins Scotty and McCoy on the floor. He sits on McCoy’s other side, the doctor draping an arm around him, too. One of Kirk’s hands seeks out Scotty’s, squeezes gently, and he whispers, “Scotty, I’m so sorry about your nephew.”

Scotty doesn’t reply, only squeezes back, fresh tears rolling down his face. Too many emotions are swirling around the small space, too many emotions between the three of them. For a long while, they sit in bereaved silence, huddled on the floor of Scotty’s quarters. Scotty finally speaks again, tells Kirk, “I’m sorry, Jim… I didn’t want him tae-… We love him, too.”

“I know,” he murmurs, voice still thick with tears, “and so did he. He loved us as we loved him.”

 _Of course he did. I never doubted it._ He squeezes Kirk’s hand again, wants to hold and comfort him even though he cannot imagine the depth of his pain. Instead, Scotty makes a suggestion that his bed is more comfortable than the floor, and the three friends are soon curled around each other on the bed, pulling what comfort they can from the warmth and intimacy. Scotty pillows his cheek atop Kirk’s head, McCoy curled in against Kirk’s side. For a moment, Scotty even feels that Spock is there with them, but if the other two get the same feeling, they say nothing.

The three friends simply stay curled in each other’s warmth, trying desperately not to feel alone in their grief.


End file.
